Welding a broken spirit
by ThePaxtonprofit
Summary: Katie is taken from her temporary home and Chuck seeks the aid of Frank West to free her and release her from an even greater, sinister goal. Along the way, more than just a bond is formed. (Warning: slash pairing. Pic that gave me the idea: /art/Surprise-Kiss-289479634 )
1. Chapter 1

In his eyes there was a fire. A flame that burned through the raging storm of ice that pelted his windshield and kept his body at a constant chill. Where he was going, there was no telling. Katie was safe and she would stay that way so long as he was gone. Chuck was for the well being of his little girl, but became, at times, consumed with the agonizing flood of regret for leaving his baby girl far behind his wake. There were questions that need not be asked nor answered, but his mind brought them through, regardless. "_What if the infection spread?" _seemed to top the list. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, making him jump. He reached for the devise and answered in an exhausted breath. "Hello?"

"Chuck, it's Frank. I just got done with a little snooping in the archives and you have to turn back now!"

"What for?" Chuck growled. Frank went silent for a moment save for a sigh and a small flutter in the phone's line.

"They have your daughter..." Chuck slammed on the breaks of his truck which was heard on the other line of the phone as a deafening screech. He turned the truck fully around and slammed on the gas pedal.

"Where?" Chuck demanded in a panic.

"You won't believe it..." Frank shook head head on the other end.

"Where?! This is my daughter now tell me where they fucking took her!"

"Take a wild guess."


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck flew down the back road, glancing from the driver's side window at what was left of Los Vegas. Frank sat in the seat by his side and clutched the hand hold on the roof of the pick up. "Do you have any idea which building this 'Secret facility' is?" Chuck took his hands of the wheel to make quotation marks. Frank shrugged.

"It's in a sky scraper, maybe a hotel."

"There are over one hundred or so Sky scrapers in Los Vegas and most of then _are_ hotels!" Chuck blurted with aggression. There was a moment of silence between the both of them save for the screeching of the truck tires over worn pavement. There were toppled buildings here and there and pats of cars and other store or Casino parts (which was which was un-distinguishable) scattered this way and that. Frank's head bashed against the window, sending waves of pain through his neck.

"Okay, Chuck, I know this is your daughter and everything, but driving like a madman isn't helping any. The people will see us coming from miles away. Slow down and maybe, for a better chance of figuring everything out, we should ditch the truck." Chuck slung the vehicle over to the curb and smashed his foot into the break. Frank's head then hit the dashboard. "And maybe you should be less touchy on the breaks," Frank groaned as he stepped out into the sidewalk. Chuck shoved himself out of the truck and walked furiously down the sidewalk with metal pipe in his grasp. West bolted after him, taking him by the arm and turning the other man to face him. Chuck's eyes bore into Frank's with that never extinguishable flame. Frank felt so small within the gaze, though Chuck was slightly shorter than he was. "Calm down." He said firmly. Chuck slung Frank off of him and stepped back a pace or two.

"You don't have a kid! You don't understand! When my kid is in a spot where she could die, it's parental instinct to be erratic!" Greene turned away, "But how should you know? All you ever cared about is fame and being in the limelight. You never had a family or people to worry about. How would you know what it's like to actually worry for more than yourself?" Frank took hold of the other man's wrist.

"_You're_ worrying me right now."

"I don't think it's my well being that's got you worried though, is it? You're scared I'll draw attention to us and get _you_ backed into a corner!" Chuck shoved Frank up against the truck. The older man retaliated by taking hold of Chuck and throwing him into a store front, breaking the only good window left on the building, or perhaps in all of Vegas.

"If I didn't care, would I have called you to tell you about your daughter? Would I have searched and searched for hours to try and find what Godforsaken hell hole they bought her to? Would I have come with you to try and help you find her? If I didn't care, I would have just sat on my ass and let her die, but i didn't! I didn't for you." Chuck stood, brushing glass off his jacket.

"Why am I so special?" Chuck mumbled. To that, Frank had no answer. He couldn't think of anything, really, that would explain why he'd done so much to help the other man, but a simple excuse would suffice, one that just came to mind after sitting in silence staring at the other man for a long moment with his mouth slightly ajar.

"You helped me at the Phenotrans facility. You did me a good favor and saved my ass, I'll tell you that. The least I can do is help you find your daughter. And maybe, just maybe, we can find that cure. This _is _another Phenotrans facility, I believe."

"So that's why you came!" Chuck threw the pipe, breaking one of his truck's windows, "You want that cure so you don't have to take those fucking drugs every day!"

"No, that last part just came to mind! I never thought about before! I just realized a second ago!"

"Whatever..." Chuck stormed off down the street, empty handed now.

"Chuck!" Frank bolted after him, trying to slow the man, but every time he touched him to try and stop him, Greene just got even more furious. Soon enough, Chuck was at the end of a very thin string.

"Get the fuck away!" He shoved Frank down, but the older man was hanging on tight to Chuck's wrist. Frank pulled Chuck down atop of him, unintentionally. They sat in the longest silence there had ever been between two. even the wind quieted its constant howling to allow them both a moment's still. Chuck was first to break from the trans and stood slowly, getting off of Frank then helping him up, stiffly. "I'm sorry, I... I..."

"No, it- It's okay..." They both rubbed the backs of their necks, faces red and burning an even deeper hue.


	3. Chapter 3

Frank tried to straiten a cot for Chuck to sleep in. He'd take first watch, just to allow the other some rest. "You need sleep."

Chuck growled. "How do you expect me to sleep when every part of me is scared to death?" West looked up.

"The same way you did when you were in Fortune City. Not hard. I slept every now and again in Willamette." Chuck sighed and turned on his heels, kneeling on the sleeping bag in front of Frank.

"My daughter was safe then. She's all I have left. There's not a soul left on the planet that doesn't hate be besides her." Frank removed his glasses and put a hand on Chuck's shoulder, smiling as a kind gesture.

"I don't hate you."

Chuck looked up.

"You're strong, respectable, efficient, and most of all, you'd put others before yourself. I'm afraid I can't really change myself to be so selfless like that, but, eh..." They sat in silence once more, eyes locked as if one was expecting the other to do something save for just sitting there. Chuck did. He leaned forward and locked his lips with the older man's, closing his eyes tight as to not allow himself to see Frank's face. There wasn't any feeling of Frank wanting to pull away. When they broke from one another, the older man shoved the other back, sliding back a few inches on the floor of the building they had taken refuge in. Chuck stayed where he was, looking down at the floor with cheeks red, but pure agony in the way he slumped his shoulders. "What was that all about?!" Frank wasn't thinking to be gentle.

"Forgive me for actually wanting to display some emotion. After I have to give Katie up to keep her safe, I've been completely devoid of emotion. I've been just a shell. I haven't wanted to show any; not until I saw you again. Ever since, I've been having this urges, these impulses and I just couldn't control it anymore."

"You mean you-"

"Just forget it." Chuck curled up in the bag and turned his back to Frank, grumbling something to himself before he fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chuck glanced around the corner of a brick facility. a gas station it seemed. Frank was rummaging through his pockets, giving a sigh of relief when he found what he was looking for. Chuck could see loads of men, soldiers it looked like, going in and out of the station, carrying boxes and cases of God knows what. "So you think this is it?" asked Chuck rather too loudly for Frank's taste.

"Shh! Keep your voice down." None of the men seemed to notice them, thankfully. Chuck slid down next to the older man and sighed.

"How on Earth are we going to get in there without being caught?"

"Well, truth be told, I have no idea." Chuck would have cursed.

"You didn't anticipate this, did you?" Frank shook his head. They sat silently, watching the soldiers for a short while. Frank couldn't help an eating curiosity inside him much longer.

"Hay, Chuck, about last night..."

"Now is not a good time, Frank." he sounded angry. The older of the two rolled his eyes and sighed, his watch beginning to beep. Frank yanked the device off his wrist and tucked in into his coat pocket until it stopped beeping. He then pulled out his zombrex and injected himself with the medicine, the syringe giving a slight hiss as the pressurization released. "Great way to get us killed. You're lucky-" Something came crashing down on Frank's dead, slamming his skull back into the wall and, then, making him fall forward into the dirt. As black tugged at the corners of his eyes, Frank could see Chuck, thrashing at the hands of the men. He seemed to break free from one and grab a shovel. The blonde swung the metal end and hit one of the men, sending his sprawling. As he reached for the gun, another man leveled his own, pulling the trigger twice, sending two bullets into the other man. Blood sported over the dirt and soaked the ground where Chuck lay motionless. Frank found his own breathing labored and soon, nonexistent as the black took him over.


	5. Chapter 5

A blistering agony cursed Frank's head after awakening. Blood pooled on the floor where he once lay passed out. After many moments, the man was still trying to come to terms with what hap transpired before the present time, but when he did, his subtle, relaxed composure quickly shifted to a horrific panic. He glanced over the small room he was confined to, but found little evidence that Chuck Greene had been there. He found, though, that his cell had no windows an a single door. It was solid metal without a window, unlike most prisons he'd found himself shoved into. With a curse and a stamp of his foot, he sat back down on the floor. Frank felt thru his pockets, finding his last three boxes of Zombrex still where he left them. At least he had that comfort to cling to, but there was no telling if Chuck was alive or otherwise.

...

Soft muffled voices lingered over his head. They were all strange, but anything other than hostile. Chuck's eyelids seemed too heavy to lift and his left shoulder was pulsing with chilling pains. It wasn't cold, blistering pains; more like warm, bruise-like, throbbing, stings. It was as if the pained had ebbed over a long period of time. All that Chuck could remember were gunshots and his head hitting the dirt before finding himself on the verge of consciousness in God-knows-where. He mumbled something, like an attempt at calling for someone. He said it again, only louder. "Frank..." he huffed weakly. "Katie..." he added, trying to roll off of his resting place to only find leather restraints keeping him immobile. A figure cam e to hover over Chuck and it appeared to be smiling. "I'll kill you." Chuck tried pulling away, but only felt black creeping in on his eyes and taking him under once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Frank had been pacing round about his cell for a long time. He'd been able to take two doses of Zombrex, so two days seemed a proper estimate. He had but one dose left, so he knew he better find a way out and one that took less than a day at least just to give him time to get more meds. The door of the cell slid open and clicked as the door entered the wall. Two burly men walked in, dragging Chuck by his forearms then tossing him down onto the floor. Frank raced to the other's side, feeling his throat first and finding relief as a pulse thumped against his fingers. Greene found the strength to open one eye, but all he could muster was a moan. Frank turned Chuck onto his back and caught his head before it hit the floor. He laid it down gently and went to remove his jacket. Once it was folded, Frank put in under Chuck's head as something for him to rest on. "I don't have much longer," he said. The one tired eye watched intently. "I can go one more day before I need to find more Zombrex. We have to move, do something."

"Why aren't... you... ever prep... ared...?" Chuck gasped.

"I usually don't have time to. Besides, how much of that stuff do you think I can carry on me anyway?" Chuck only gave a weak laugh before rolling over, back facing the older man. "And I never intended to take any of these..." Frank whispered, "For once, I wasn't thinking about myself..."


End file.
